Bloody Flowers
by KeepsakeKey
Summary: Kagome takes care of a half dead Sesshomaru that she found lying in a field of flowers. As her life goes on, she realizes she's spending much of her time thinking about the demon lord.
1. Helping A Demon Lord

**Disclaimer:: I do not own Inuyasha!!**

**Keep in mind, I do not like this pairing.**

**This is for my Gaia friend, Megami Kai.**

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Kagome looked down upon the demon that lie in front of her, suppressing a sigh. She had found a half dead Sesshomaru two days ago, just lying on the edge of a flower field. Why the demon lord was around flowers, she wasn't sure, though it kind of surprised her.

Inuyasha and herself had gotten into another fight about Kikyo, so she had stomped off, telling him not to follow her. She figures that he might think she went back home for a while, because in fact, the half demon has not come to look for her. It disappointed her, but she'd live.

After all, she had a half dead demon to take care of. She couldn't just leave Sesshomaru lying on the ground, bleeding and left to die. Her heart wouldn't let her. Even if he had tried to kill her many times, she still felt responsible to make sure he stayed alive, as she was the one who found him.

Kagome had wrapped up the man's chest, which had a fairly large gash from the left shoulder, all the way to the right, above the hem of his pants, thank goodness. She didn't want to have to take off the demon's pants, she'd feel much to uncomfortable. Actually, she didn't really feel comfortable with taking off his armor and shirt, though that most certainly had to be done.

Since Kagome had wrapped Sesshomaru up, and cleaned his wound as best as she could, now she only had to wait until it healed. Since he was a full demon, that was sure to be fairly quickly, though slower then usual since it is such a bad wound. While waiting, Kagome spent her time picking flowers, sometimes weaving them together.

She made sure not to pick the ones within a foot of Sesshomaru's sleeping body, as those were covered in dry blood. Quite sickening when you look at them, but at the same time, beautiful. She almost wished she had brought one of her cameras from home, just so that she could take a picture of the sight.

Kagome let out a light sigh, leaning over the demon's body and placing a pale blue flower behind his ear. It looked wonderful, actually making the flower look more beautiful, instead of the man. There was no denying that Sesshomaru was very good looking, although his emotionless demeanor was what had people not liking his company.

Kagome jumped slightly as Sesshomaru's eyes suddenly opened. Before he could sit up, she put both hands on his right shoulder, attempting to keep him down with her petty human strength.

"Why are you here, human?" His voice, though soft with sleep, was still cold, void of all emotion. He hesitantly stopped himself from sitting up, feeling a soft throbbing throughout his chest area, probably from the random demon that jumped him while he wasn't paying attention.

"I found you bleeding two days ago. Please, don't move, your wound has barely healed." Kagome let go of Sesshomaru's shoulder after she realized he wasn't trying to move anymore, and then sat back. Her face flushed a light pink after realizing that he still had the flower in his hair. Indeed, the silver river surrounding the blue petals, and the golden eyes next to it, made the flower look simply amazing.

Sesshomaru's gaze flickered down at the bandages across his chest, feeling slightly uncomfortable lying next to the woman. Even though she was a human, right now, she could easily strike him with her arrows, injuring him further.

"I'll just be sitting here. If you need anything, let me know, okay?" Kagome went back to fingering the flowers next to her, moving away from the bloody patches around his figure.

"Hn." Sesshomaru paused, sniffing. His nose scrunched up slightly, and as Kagome watched, he lifted up his hand, taking the blue flower out from his hair. He eyed the flower, bringing it up to his face, a soft frown making it's way onto his face. "What is this?"

Kagome blinked, blushing even more. "A-A flower...?" Surely, the demon lord knew what a flower was. Although, he probably didn't like them in his hair.

Sesshomaru looked back down at the flower, his face going back into emotionless state. He put the flower back into his hair, before turning his head to the side, closing his eyes again. He was still tired, and didn't really care about something as futile as a flower, at the moment.

Kagome couldn't help but let out a breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding. She thought for sure he was going to attack her. Thank goodness. As she watched his sleeping face, she smiled slightly, lying down next to the demon lord and his bloody flowers.


	2. Being Right Hurts

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or it's characters!

So, I was going to leave this as a one-shot. But I've been pulled into the SessKag love.

I figured I'd turn it into a story and see how it went.

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When Kagome woke up to what she assumed was a few hours later (the sky was turning red), Sesshoumaru was gone. At first, she shot up from her spot on the ground, worried about the demon. He had been badly injured: what if he was killed? She glanced around herself frantically before she realized she was being foolish. After all, any demon that killed him would have killed her as well, right? So then he must have left on his own. She frowned, pretty sure he hadn't been well enough to move. What if something happened to him?

Wait, why did she even care? Kagome quickly shook her head and shouldered her pack, walking forward a few steps. Just because she had taken care of him for a few days didn't mean anything. She wasn't his keeper -he would be fine. She had repeated this a few times to herself before she turned back around and ran back to the tree. Reaching down, she grabbed a few of the bloody flowers. She held them in her hands for a moment before putting her bag down on the ground, sticking them in one of the front pouches. Nodding to herself, she pivoted on her heel and started off back to Kaede's village.

Kagome had taken quite a few baths in a near spring when she was taking care of Sesshoumaru. She needed to, because after tending to him, she always ended up bloody. She wondered idly if Inuyasha would smell the blood on her. Would he realize it was his half-brother's? Would he think she had fought him off or killed him? Maybe that they had spent the last two days together? Well, technically, they had, but not in the way the boy would see it. She pursed her lips in thought before shrugging to herself. Oh well. He could think what he wanted, she didn't care.

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Thankfully, Kagome had made it back to Kaede's village before night completely fell. She wiped her legs off from some of the leaves she had gotten stuck to them from walking through a couple of small bushes. Running a hand through her hair, she made her way to the hut in which the rest of the gang stayed when they were in the village. When she got there, Sango, Miroku, and Shippou were all sitting around a fire in the middle of the building.

"Kagome!" Shippou gave her a beaming grin and launched himself at her, wrapping his arms around her neck. She reached up to make sure he wouldn't fall, and smiled down at him. "Where have you been? Inuyasha went to look for you in your world, but said your family hadn't seen you!" he pulled away from her neck so she could see he was frowning.

Kagome shook her head and pulled off her bag, leaning it against the wall. "I didn't go to my world. I went for a walk," she replied, walking the few steps to sit around the fire. It was warmer than the cold air she had been walking in, which was a relief.

Sango looked at her, her lips tilted downward. "A two-day long walk?" Apparently, Miroku knew better than to say anything, because he had kept quiet so far. Smart man.

Kagome frowned, her eyebrows pulling together. She opened her mouth to ask why she had to explain where she had been, when Inuyasha burst into the hut. She turned to narrow his eyes at him.

"Where the hell have you been!" The hanyou stomped up to her in a childish manner, crossing his arms. She imagined he was like this when he was just a little boy: standing with a stubborn look on his face in front of his mother.

Kagome stood, Shippou being smart enough to jump off of her and into Sango's arms. She turned to Inuyasha and crossed her own arms: she looked more threatening than the dog demon. "Why do I have to explain myself to you, huh?" She used the line she was going to use on Sango. Inuyasha was much more deserving of it.

Inuyasha glared defiantly at her, not backing down. Which was a stupid move. He should have just let it go and sat down to enjoy the fire. "What if something happened to you?" He kept shouting.

But Kagome's voice dropped deathly low. "Why should you care? You were with _Kikyou_." She all but spat out her name, and Inuyasha, as well as the others, flinched. Not giving him a chance to reply, and figuring he wouldn't, she turned and grabbed her bag once more, taking the same exit as the hanyou's entrance.

"Where are you going?" He turned his head to look at her, his face sad. Sad because he was losing her, and he knew it? Sad because he knew she was right? Sad because he actually loved her, just didn't want to admit it? She didn't know anymore, and that was the problem.

Kagome almost stopped and asked. Almost. Instead, she simply said, "Kaede's," and walked out. She slowed her fast pace, her eyes stinging with the tears she didn't spill in front of Inuyasha. She refused to do something as pitiful as cry in front of him. She cleared her throat, nodding to herself in an assuring matter. "He made his choice, Kagome." She spoke aloud to herself. "He made it long ago."


	3. Take Me Away

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha!

Wow. Just... wow.

I get on my email after school, only to discover that this story has been added as favourites/alert SIX times today!

I am so. happy. ;-;

This makes me feel so loved, because I was writing chapters in my notebook during school today instead of doing my work!

I have up to chapter 5 done already, and will keep posting a new chapter ever day for as long as... I have chapters.

Please review!

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It's been two weeks since Kagome stomped out of the hut. She really considered going back home -for good. She could go back to school, see her family, hang out with her friends... But after the thought, she always reminded herself that it was her responsibility to gather the rest of the jewel shards. Just because Naraku was dead didn't mean she could stop her duty. And it couldn't be done without her, no matter if Inuyasha wanted to believe differently.

Two weeks of walking and fighting any demon that happened to pass by. Two weeks of a slight awkward silence with all of her friends. Two weeks of doing anything she could to not speak to Inuyasha.

The hanyou had been silent at first, although he always glared over at her, as if everything was her fault. He never had said anything about the smell of Sesshoumaru all over her, although she knew he had been able to tell. After the first couple of days, he would say something to Kagome, only to have her answer with one word, if at all. By now, he had gotten frantic to get her to talk to him. He was doing anything he could. Trying to make her happy, make her mad. Once, he had tried to make her jealous. But she hadn't said anything. If she could keep up with the couple of words, then that's what she did. She was afraid she would blow up whenever he said something to her. It was all she could do to keep from doing so.

Everyone was shocked, although they didn't voice it. Kagome never stayed this mad at Inuyasha for long. She'd get over what was troubling her after a while, and start talking to her best friend, and -obviously- one-sided love, again. They always made up again, it was what they did. It was inevitable. Or so they thought; she still hadn't. Everyone was at a complete loss of what to do.

Everyone had tried talking to her at least once. Miroku was the first: he told her that love was painful, and that these things need mending. You couldn't just leave them be. Sango had told her to stop sulking over him, and to find someone else. Shippou had suggested she go to Kouga: he would happily take her. She felt like she was being passed along, although she knew that wasn't what her friends were saying.

And part of Kagome's 'problem' had nothing to do with Inuyasha at all. Over the past two weeks, she had found that whenever she wasn't doing something important, her thoughts would drift off. This would be just fine if the person they drifted off to was the hanyou, like it usually was. But now, it wasn't. Instead, whenever her mind was blank, and she wasn't thinking of something specific, her thoughts went off to Sesshoumaru. She had no idea why, and no idea how to stop it, and it was bugging her.

Kagome would realize she was thinking about the demon lord once again, and then make herself think of Rin instead -as if she were thinking of Sesshoumaru because of the girl. But it never worked. When her mind was silent again, the silver hair and gold orbs would come into her thoughts once again. She couldn't get away from her mind.

Two weeks. And then, as if he knew she were thinking of him all the time, couldn't get him from her mind, he was right in front of her.

Inuyasha's ears had twitched, and a cruel growl left his throat, about to bark out an order, probably to move back. But it was too late -the next moment, Sesshoumaru was in front of her, the fur boa around his body still floating behind him. He had a slight odd glow around him from when he 'flew'. Kagome yelped from surprise, and stumbled back.

Sesshoumaru's hand shot out, resting on her upper arm. She only would have fell onto her bottom in the dirt, but he had helped her. Kagome's face turned a light pink, and she was about to sputter about a thank you when he spoke. "I need the miko." Okay, so maybe he hadn't helped her.

There was a moment of shocked silence, from everyone excepted the increasingly irritated demon lord. After a moment, Inuyasha was behind Kagome, once hand on her shoulder, the other on Tessaiga. "Excuse me?" he growled out, pulling his blade out a fraction of an inch. Even Kagome wanted to glare at him, and say, 'Not like that, you moron.'

The youkai just narrowed his eyes and pulled -gentle enough to not hurt- on Kagome's arm, pulling her from his half-brother. So now, she had stumbled _toward_ the man. He didn't seem to be enjoying any of it, and glanced down at the girl, only speaking to her. "Rin has been taken."

Kagome felt her heart strings pull, but she kept a calm face. She was feeling awkward between the two brothers, and wanted nothing more to just sink into the ground and off the face of the earth. She could hear Sango, Miroku, and Shippou all behind them a few feet, whispering to each other or muttering to themselves. She suddenly felt as though she were on display. "Can't you track her?"

Sesshoumaru looked away for a moment, as if thinking on whether or not to answer her question. If he answered with no, then he would seem cold-hearted and lazy. If he answered yes, then he would seem weak and incapable. Finally, he answered. "I have tried," he paused, considering his wording carefully. "The demon had one of those Jewel Shards. You can track them." Somehow, he managed to make the obvious question into a statement.

Kagome weighed her options. She couldn't just leave the girl with a demon that might hurt her. Sure, Sesshoumaru was also a demon, but he'd never hurt Rin. Him coming to her for help just proved that, even if the man would never admit it to himself or anyone else. She also had another thought: What would Inuyasha think? She had already left for two days, only to come back with Sesshoumaru's smell all over her. But then it hit her: Why the hell should she even care? After her moment of her own thought, she nodded. "Alright, then."

Sesshoumaru didn't give any indication that he had heard her, although they started to float upward, his hand still on her upper arm. Inuyasha made a choking sound, "W-wait!" He jumped up, trying to grab Kagome to pull her away from his half-brother. The girl looked up at Sesshoumaru, who easily dodged the attempt.

"They can't come?" She kept her voice low, knowing that Sesshoumaru would be able to hear. He was a full demon, after all. She received a small, almost unnoticeable, shake of the head. Kagome wet her lips and looked down at the worried Inuyasha. "I'll be fine."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at her. "And how do you know?" He moved his glare to the demon, as if trying to silently remind herself of who she was going with. Of what he had tried to do to her in the past. As if she wasn't already aware of all of this. She wasn't a little girl. No, she was going to save one.

Kagome looked up at her 'captor'. She couldn't bare to keep looking at Inuyasha. His worried demeanor was quickly changing to accusation. She thought that was kind of ironic: he was getting all mad over this, when she had found him and Kikyou in much more compromising acts. "He owes me." Although she wasn't looking at him anymore, she had directed her words at Inuyasha.

Sesshoumaru understood, unlike Inuyasha who had started his yelling. The demon lord pulled her to him, putting the arm that was around her arm to her waist so that she wouldn't fall. She tried to keep her blush down, and moved one of her hands to grip a spike coming off of his armour.

They began glowing, and then they were gone. Up in the air, heading off to somewhere. Kagome had no idea where she was being taken, but that didn't scare her as much as her following thought: She didn't care.


	4. Coincidences Need Planning

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha!

I had quite a few Favourite Stories/Favourite Authors before I went to be last night!

I wasn't able to write a new chapter because I had a fever and left school early. :'(

However, I will try to right another one here at home!

Hope you like this chapter!

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It only took about half an hour before Kagome and Sesshoumaru finally hit the ground. And amazingly, that half an hour was filled with a comfortable silence. The girl had been so irritated at having to respond to the group when they said something, that given the sweet silence was restful in the very least. The demon lord didn't feel the need to fill the air with useless words as everyone else seemed to.

Flying was, by far, an odd experience. First she had to make sure she held on to Sesshoumaru at all times. Which had been a little awkward for her. She didn't know if the youkai was the type to just drop her or not... Okay, she did know: he totally was. But he wouldn't, because Rin's life was on the line. Second, she could feel the air moving around her. And she was thankful that she had been in front of Sesshoumaru: she did not want his hair all up in her face. Although hers was probably in his.

When they floated on down out of the sky, Kagome let go of Sesshoumaru before turning to look around her. She sucked in a surprised breath before turning to look at the demon. "A castle?" she asked, her voice in awe.

Sesshoumaru seemed a little confused, as confused as he could be, but nodded. "Of course. I am the Lord of the Western Lands. It is only fitting. Come." Yes, of course. He stepped around her and began walking towards the structure.

So no pleasantries. Okay they Kagome nodded and followed. It was only a couple of minutes until they were at the door of the castle. Glancing behind her, she realized that they had landed inside of huge gates. She wondered how people got permission to come in to see Sesshoumaru.

The castle was large. Easily two times the size of the castles she had seen in the large villages she had traveled to in her time in this era. She wasn't sure why she hadn't thought of the fact that Sesshoumaru could have as castle before. Whenever she saw him, he was traveling on foot with Rin, Jaken, and Ah-un. Surely he had a horse or something, right?

When they walked in, Sesshoumaru was flocked by servants, all waiting to be told to go do something. He ignored them, his gaze instead settling on Jaken, who was at the head of the flock. The imp gulped and rubbed his hands together nervously. "I-I'm afraid w-we still haven't f-found Rin, mi'lord."

Kagome walked up next to Sesshoumaru, and all eyes went to her. You'd think that the demon lord had never brought a human home before. Actually, scratch that. He probably hadn't. Jaken blinked for a second. "What is the... Miko doing here?"

The girl looked over to Sesshoumaru,but it didn't seem like he was going to respond. So she cleared her throat. "I can track the demon that took Rin." She glanced up again for some type of reassurance.

Not surprisingly, she didn't get any. The youkai looked toward one of the servants. "Get the miko a proper priestess dress." The servant nodded and glanced at Kagome, silently finding all of her sizes, and then scurried off to get the dress.

Kagome frowned up at Sesshoumaru. "We're leaving now?" She made sure to keep any negative tones out of her voice: she didn't know how many of these servants would attack her for being rude to their lord, or if he himself would get angry at her.

Sesshoumaru simply nodded. "Yes," he replied, turning to walk back outside.

Kagome pursed her lips, turning after him, and grabbed part of his kimono. He stopped, glaring back at her. "I've been walking all day -it's getting dark. I need rest in order to properly be able to track down this demon." She paused, the look on the demon lord's face unconvinced. "When we landed, there was no trade of the shard. Which means he went the other way. It'll take a while to find him." She almost added a please, but decided that wouldn't help any.

Sesshoumaru stood still, considering her words. Finally, he gave a sharp nod. "Very well. We leave at dawn." He turned back around towards her and gestured a hand at a servant. "Prepare the miko a room." Was he going to keep calling her miko?

While the servant ran off down the hallway, Sesshoumaru stalked off on his own. Kagome wasn't sure what to do. Follow the servant? Follow Sesshoumaru? Do a little dance? History class obviously wasn't helping her any. Not anywhere in the text book had told her what to do when you were in a demon's castle. Figuring the servant would come back to get her, she just stayed where she was.

Looking around at the dispersing servants, she noticed they were all demons. Lower class demons, by the look of it, who were of no harm. At least not to their lord, that is.

Not wanting to be around the demon servants for too long, Kagome walked down the hallway that the servant who went to find a room had taken. She also made sure she kept out of the other demons' way. The castle wasn't a medieval castle. This one had, as far as she could tell when they were outside, at least dour floors. It was all wood and Japanese screen. When she glanced outside, she saw there was a tall wall all around the castle, made of stone. Guards were posted around and on the wall, as well as walking along the grounds.

Amazingly, many of the screens she saw had art on them. Sakura Trees, flowers, mountains, clouds, and other intricate designs. She wondered if they were done before or after Rin had arrived. They were all pretty, and Rin seemed like the type of girl that liked artwork.

After a little while, the servant found her. "This way." Kagome followed, as she was told. It took, easily, about five minutes to finally get to the room. That just went to show how large the castle was. It was on the second floor, the door painted with a beautiful waterfall.

Kagome looked over to thank the demon, but it had already left. Shrugging, she opened the screen door and stepped inside. Closing it behind her, she looked around the room after dropping her bag next to the door. It seemed to be fairly simple: a nice, typical, feudal ear bed -on the floor. The floor was hardwood, and the walls, all around, were painted with forests, clearings full of flowers, and...

Her eyes stopped at one section of the wall: a large clearing full of different colour flowers, a huge tree near the edge. The roots of the tree, and the flowers down under it, were covered in crimson.

Kagome's face went red. Did Sesshoumaru have someone paint it? Or was it just a coincidence that there was the exact scene of the field on the wall? And that she would be put in that exact room?

You know what they say about coincidences: They take a lot of planning.


	5. Having Fun With It

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha!

Wewt, more story alerts!

Now if I could get more reviews...

I'm still sick. [/pouts] My voice is all raspy and I have a fever. [/sigh]

Review to make me better?

So, I'm clearing up any questions now.

This is AFTER Naraku has been killed, but they haven't gotten all of the shards yet.

And I know how the series ends, but I'm changing it, since I'm the author. Mwahahaha.

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Kagome was awoken the next morning by her door closing. She blinked sleep out of her eyes and glanced around. First things first: see where you are. She covered her mouth with her hand as she yawned, realizing she was in Sesshoumaru's castle. Now that she had gotten some sleep, she realized that this may not be the best idea. Oh well. Alright, second thing: who came in the room? She confirmed a minute later that there was no one currently in the space. Someone had come in, however, to put some clothes by the door.

She wrinkled her nose. Why she couldn't just wear her school uniform was a mystery to her. And why did Sesshoumaru care what she was wearing, anyway? Actually, maybe some smells of her world stayed on her clothes and it bothered him? Nah, like something like that would bother him. She shook her head and got up, walking over to pick the miko clothing up before grabbing her bag. She went out into the hallway, walking for a few minutes before seeing a servant. She cleared her throat, causing the demon to look at her. "Where are the baths?" She supposed that if it were a castle, it would have some type of bath. And boy did she need one.

Kagome expected the servant to just tell her where to go, but instead it started down the hallway. She waited a moment to follow the demon. Just as last night, most of the doors were beautifully painted. Her mind went to the art they had in their time. Most of it was manga, as if people had forgotten how to use a paintbrush. Not that she minded manga, she actually had quite a few in her room in her world.

A while later, the demon stopped, pointed to the door next to them, and hurried off. Kagome didn't bother to try to say thank you like before, and opened the door. She was met with hot steam. She gave a startled squeak at the sudden heat and closed her eyes a little. Not that it helped. Walking in slowly, she glanced around herself. It was an indoor hot spring. she shouldn't have been surprised, but she was. Shaking her head to herself, she set her miko clothing on the floor before stripping off her dirty uniform.

Stepping into the hot water, Kagome began humming to herself as she cleaned off. It had been a good while since she had a good bath. She rinsed her hair happily, glad she still had shampoo and conditioner in the bag. She wondered if the lords had toiletries? Sesshoumaru had to keep his hair like that somehow. Surely it wasn't naturally shiny? Not even realizing that she was thinking of the youkai again, she ducked under the water to get the bubbles out of her hair.

While she was under, she heard a snapping sound. Surprised, she came back up and whipped her head around, trying to find what made the noise. Suddenly feeling dizzy, she grabbed onto the side of the spring. After a moment, she felt a bit better and kept looking. She didn't see anyone, but frowned. Reaching out to grab her tooth brush and tooth paste from her bag, she noticed that her uniform was gone. Blinking, she pulled herself out of the water, wrapping a fluffy towel -which may have been some hide, she had no idea- around herself. As she glanced around, she didn't see her uniform. Who would want to take her uniform?

Figuring she'd tell Sesshoumaru to get it back later -hey, it cost money!- she brushed her teeth and hair after drying off. It took a couple of minutes to get the hakama tied, but she eventually got it. She wished she could look at herself, but there didn't seem to be any mirrors. She failed tying her hair with the white ribbon, and pouted, draping it across her neck. She'd get it later.

She opened the door to the hot spring to leave, it ran right into someone. Making an 'oof' sound, she glanced up, thankful that she hadn't let go of the screen door. "Who- Ah! Sesshoumaru!" She took a step back. Then realizing it just put her back into the room she was trying to leave, stepped around the demon.

Sesshoumaru frowned down at her and closed the door to the hot spring. "It is dawn." When she gave him a confused look, he narrowed his eyes at the girl. "Time to leave." Did the human not even realize what time it was?

Apparently not. "Oh! It's dawn already?" The youkai completely ignored her, and began walking off down the hall. Sighing, she hurried after him. Some how, it seemed to be much of a longer walk when she was behind the lord of the castle. And, like magic, there were many more servants out now. Maybe they were pretending to do something? Surely there hadn't been that many out when she was looking for the baths? Then suddenly, it hit her. Kagome stopped in her spot, and glared. "What did you do with my clothes?"

Sesshoumaru, Kami bless him, stopped. After a moment, he turned around, confusion written all over his face. "Excuse me?" What did he do with her clothes? She was obviously wearing clothes. Unless he had gone crazy, which he definitely hadn't. Some may say he had, but they had not seen crazy.

The human placed her hands on her hips, and leaned forward, her eyes narrowed. "My uniform! I finished bathing, and it was gone!" She scowled and crossed her arms. "You were outside the door when I came out!"

Ah, so she was talking about that filthy green and white thing she had been wearing. Sesshoumaru blinked, then narrowed his own orbs. "What exactly would I want with your disgusting clothing? It is time to go. Come." He turned around, ignoring any response she may have said. He thinks he may have heard a 'disgusting!' but was too busy ignoring her to care.

Kagome ended up following the demon, pouting and arms crossed. When they came to the door that they had come into the castle at, Jaken was standing next to it. "Ah, mi'lord! Is the miko ready?" He leaned over to look past Sesshoumaru and at Kagome.

Already not being in a good mood, she snorted. "I'm right here! And yes, I'm ready. Except for my clothes." She cut her eyes over at Sesshoumaru, but he had opened the door and was walking out. Jaken opened his mouth to question her statement, but decided against it and hurried after the youkai. She wondered if she would have to hold onto Sesshoumaru again to get around, but when they walked out, Ah-un was standing to the side. She gave the dragon a smile and scrambled up onto it's back. "Ah! My bow!" She had completely forgotten about it in the room when she woke up.

Jaken climbed up in front of her, and pointed to the side of the dragon. When she looked, her bow and arrows had been placed in a bag. She let out a relieved sigh and took them out, putting the quiver on her arm and holding the bow. She glanced over at Sesshoumaru. "I suppose we should go to... that way... and I'll let you know when I feel the shard." She had no idea which way the demon had gone -east, north, west, or south- so just pointed.

Kagome had expected Sesshoumaru to grab the reigns of Ah-un and lead the dragon forward, but instead he sat a couple inches behind her. She squeaked and moved forward as much as she could without hitting Jaken. "What are you doing?"

Sesshoumaru glanced over at her with a blank face, as if she were supposed to have understood from the beginning. Not likely. "I fly faster than Ah-un." Even with that information, it took a couple of moments for her to realize what he meant. If he flew, then he'd get too far ahead. And walking would take too long. Sighing, she finally nodded. The dragon started walking forward, and having no where else to lean, leaned forward and on Jaken's head.

"Wench! Get off of me!" He squawked and squirmed around, but Kagome just giggled. Yeah, this was totally a bad idea. But she might as well have fun with it.


	6. Don't Take Me Back

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha!

Wow, the story alerts and favourite stories are piling up quickly!

Review, pwease?

And yes, the fight is over quickly.

Because really, did you except a fight between Sesshoumaru and a demon to last long?

* * *

They had been flying for a whole five minutes when Sesshoumaru opened his mouth to say something. "Why is your hair not tied?" He had his eyes narrowed at the black locks that were trying to whip him in the face. He had leaned back, out of the range of the hair. But he should not have to be leaning back on his own dragon.

Kagome looked over her shoulder with a 'what' face before realizing what he was even talking about. "Oh!" She took the white ribbon from her neck and held it tightly so it wouldn't fly off. She gave him her best sheepish smile. "I couldn't get it up. I don't really put my hair up, so I'm not used to tying it..."

She had trailed off when Sesshoumaru reached around her to grab the ribbon out of her hands. What was he going to do? Throw it overboard? Choke her with it, perhaps? She was still leaning on Jaken's head, so he could easily wrap it around her neck and pop her head off. She swallowed and her free hand went to her throat.

But Sesshoumaru just snorted. "Humans," he muttered, gathering all of Kagome's hair in one hand. It proved to be a bit difficult, considering it was still whipping around. He used his other hand to put the ribbon around the hair and then tied it near the back of her neck, making a low ponytail. How could a human girl not even know how to put her hair up? Oblivious to the look the miko was now giving him, he stuck his hands in his sleeves and looked off to the side of Ah-un.

Kagome was in shock. She hadn't expected Sesshoumaru to actually put her hair up. Chop it all off, maybe. Push her off the dragon, possible. But tie her hair? It seemed very... human of him. Or maybe he had done the same before for Rin? Although she had never seen the girl with her hair in a ponytail, it was possible. After a whole minute of just looking at the demon in awe, she shook her head and kept her eyes in front of her.

* * *

About an hour later, Kagome all but jumped up to stand on Ah-un. "I can sense the shard!" She narrowed her eyes off in the direction of it, as if she could see that far. After some quick calculating, she nodded and pointed. "It's probably like, a couple of miles away." Jaken nodded and pulled slightly on the dragon's reigns, turning him in the direction of the shard. But he glanced back at the girl as if he didn't believe her. Which, he probably didn't. And how could she blame him? She wouldn't believe it if it were someone else, either.

Apparently not wanting to ride on the dragon anymore, Sesshoumaru grabbed Kagome around the waist. "H-Hey! What are you doing!" She yelped and squirmed awkwardly between him and her backpack. It really wasn't very comfortable, since she had her quiver on one side of her, as well. And she couldn't exactly lean forward and away from him, since Jaken was in front of her.

He just tightened his grip in response and glanced over her to the green imp, who was trying to calm Ah-un down. It seemed to be too much movement for the dragon's liking. "Land and wait." Sesshoumaru jumped off Ah-un's back, and he began to glow. A moment later, they were zooming through the air, Kagome trying to grab whatever she could to hang on.

Finally, she settled for wrapping her arms around the one around her waist. She glared back at Sesshoumaru, wishing she didn't have to hold on to him for dear life. "You couldn't wait half an hour? Really?" She scowled at him. Really, you'd think she'd be nicer to the person that held her life in his hands. Literally. But nope, not her. Call it stubbornness or stupidity, but whatever it was called, she wouldn't be in this position if she could help it.

When Sesshoumaru didn't respond, Kagome just pursed her lips at him. "Fine then!" She turned her head back around and kept her hold around his arm. She was not going to fall, not if she could do anything about it. A couple of minutes later, and Kagome piped up, "The demon is just in front of us!"

The youkai nodded sharply and they began floating down to the ground. Amazingly, they didn't hit any branches on the trees, and made it to the earth safely. Kagome let out a deep breath and squirmed, stumbling away a couple of feet when Sesshoumaru let go of her. She turned around to say something, but was interrupted by him walking past her. Right. Complaining later, rescuing Rin first.

They walked through the trees together to a small hut. She wondered to herself why they couldn't see it from above, but when she looked up, she noticed that the trees seemed to arch over the building, keeping it hidden from aerial view. Sesshoumaru looked back at her questioningly, and she nodded, confirming that the demon -or, at least, the shard- was in the building. She stopped behind him when he pulled out Bakusaiga from his sash.

Sesshoumaru shot forward and ripped the door off it's hinges, barely taking the time to throw it aside, and was inside of the hut the next second. Kagome hurried forward after him, making sure to stay behind the youkai. Better him to get cut into pieces than her.

A very odd looking demon stood in front of them. It appeared to be male, with green scaly skin and horns coming from it's head. With the spikes she could see on it's back, it reminded her of a dinosaur. It stood at about six feet or so, and was attempting to loom over Sesshoumaru. "Get out or you will become my dinner!" Really, demons need a new scary line, because this one was used way too often.

"Lord Sesshoumaru!" Rin cried, pressed up against the corner of the hut on the other side of the room. She sniffled and stood, running over to them.

"Wait, Rin!" Kagome tried to warn her, but the demon had already swung his arm, hitting the girl and making her fly back to crash into the wall. Sesshoumaru made a terrifying growling sound deep within his throat, and cut the demon in half. Kagome winched but ran around the remains and gathered the unconscious girl in her arms. "Rin?"

"Ahahahahaha! Did you think it would be that easy!" The demon's two halves pulled back together in a sickening fashion, and he lunged towards Sesshoumaru, fist pulled back. Kagome had completely forgotten about the Jewel Shard -she was too worried about Rin.

With the demon between Sesshoumaru and Kagome, the girl couldn't see the demon lord. "Umm... there! In his neck!" The next moment, a hand ripped through the dinosaur-demon's throat coming out through the other side. Kagome bent over Rin, blood splatter sprinkling over her. When she glanced back up, Sesshoumaru had pulled his hand back out, his hand closed over the Jewel Shard. The demon crumpled onto the ground.

He cut his eyes over to her. "The demon will not come back." He glanced down at the shard in his hand, as if he couldn't believe that this little piece of jewel could make a demon come back to life after it's been killed.

Kagome shook her head and let out a shaky breath. "No, it won't." She stood, a little surprised that Sesshoumaru had so easily killed a demon with a shard. In battles with shard-holding demons, Inuyasha usually got badly injured. She supposed it just goes to show how much stronger the demon-lord was. She glanced down at Rin, who was still in her arms. "She's still breathing -I think she just got knocked out." She stood with a little bit of difficulty -her backpack weighed as much as the girl, and with the two of them, it felt like she was carrying a couple hundred pounds.

Sesshoumaru stepped forward and put one arm under Rin, taking her from Kagome's arms. He reached out and put the shard in one of her hands. "I have no need for this." The miko looked down at the shard with confusion, but opened the tiny bottle around her neck and stuck it in after the shard was purified. She didn't know what she had expected Sesshoumaru to do with the shard, but giving it to her wasn't at the top of the list.

As they walked out of the hut, Kagome knew that Sesshoumaru would take her back to Inuyasha and the rest of the gang, now that she no longer had a purpose to be with him. But she wondered, would he come to ask her for help again?


	7. Sneaking Off

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha!

Wow, the story alerts and favourite stories are piling up quickly!

Review, pwease?

OH HO HO, WHERE AM I GOING WITH THIS?

[I have no idea.]

* * *

Just like Kagome had expected, Sesshoumaru took her back to Inuyasha. First they had stopped back by his castle, to drop off Rin so that she could be checked over, and then Sesshoumaru took her back to where she had been picked up from. She felt as if she were just being handed off; which, in a way, she was. She don't know what she expected, but part of her had hoped that the demon lord would keep her with him. She could come in handy, even though he didn't need or want the shards, right? But sadly, he dropped her off and then left without another word.

And she still didn't get her school uniform back. When Sango had asked about her miko attire, she couldn't come up with a better answer than, "My uniform was taken." And that explanation didn't sound very good; Sango's face had turned pink, Miroku's eyes got wide, and Inuyasha got pissed off. Shippou, as innocent as he is, was confused about the others' reactions. She could have said "I lost my other clothes," but that sounded even worse.

The next time Kagome went home, she apologized to her mother and told the woman that she had lost her uniform, and Kaede let her have a miko outfit. Her mom said it was okay, and got her a new one. Although she packed it with her when she went back to the Feudal Era, she never put it on, instead preferring to wear the clothes that Sesshoumaru had given her.

* * *

Now, it had been a little under a month since Sesshoumaru had asked for Kagome's help in finding Rin. They traveled on like always, and had found two more Jewel Shards since she had gotten back. Although she still refused to hold a conversation with Inuyasha, she became friendly with the rest of her friends once more, even though she hardly paid attention to what they were saying. Her head was up in the clouds.

Now that she had the miko clothing on, a lot of villagers asked her to stay and heal their wounded. She only knew a little about herbs and healing, so when they had stopped by Kaede's village again, they stayed for a couple of days so that the old woman could teach Kagome more. Kaede was more than thrilled that the girl was trying to learn the ways of the priestess. It irritated Inuyasha to no end, because in his eyes, she was becoming more and more like Kikyou. Being completely honest, it irritated her as well. But she kept telling herself that this was what she had chosen; she wanted nothing more than to help those in need.

Kagome and the gang frequently stayed for a couple of days every now and then at small villages, and now they didn't need Miroku's fake services to be able to stay in a nice room. If some of the villagers needed healing, or the crops or temple needed blessing, or if a woman was giving birth, they were given a room to stay in and food to eat. With Inuyasha and Sango killing demons, and Kagome and Miroku performing services, they became very busy.

One night, when Kagome was feeling tired but not tired enough to sleep, she wandered off in the forest next to the village. She took her bow and quiver with her, just in case she needed to protect herself. Most demons didn't bother her now that her miko power was obvious enough for them to realize she was a threat to them. She had found a small pond and was sitting on the edge, her feet in the cool water and looking up at the moon when Sesshoumaru walked through the trees across from her. She tried to get him to talk, but he stayed silent until she got up to leave about an hour or so later. When she turned around, his voice drifted over to her from across the water. "Miko." When she turned back around to see what the demon wanted, he had disappeared. When Kagome went back to the village and her room, she felt Inuyasha's eyes on her.

She went off again the following nights that they stayed at that village, but she hadn't seen Sesshoumaru again. When she figured it was just a coincidence that they had met that night, she stopped leaving in middle of the night. She could tell the others had noticed something, because they seemed to be cautious around her. She didn't know what they thought they knew, but their imaginations were probably going off in all kinds of directions.

Kagome smiled and helped all those that asked her for her aid, and directed Inuyasha to a Jewel Shard when she sensed one nearby. Now that they had most of the shards, it was getting increasingly difficult to find them. She had taken the shards out of the bottle and formed them together once more. It was almost complete. The next time they went back to Kaede's village, the old woman gave her a necklace to put the large jewel on.

The first night Inuyasha had left, Kagome was awake. Even though she knew what she would find, she followed him quietly. He seemed to be too distracted to realize she was about thirty feet behind him. Wearing her tabi instead of her uniform shoes, she glided over the underbrush as if she was meant to be there, barely making a sound. When she stopped behind a tree and looked past it to see him and Kikyou together, she turned back around and went back.

It didn't really bother her anymore. It bothered her more now that he was keeping it from everyone than it was that he was going off in middle of the night to see another girl. As much as part of her didn't want to admit it, the crush Kagome had on the hanyou seemed to go away. Now it was just a dull realization, telling her, "You used to love him."

But the main reason why it didn't bother her, was now that every time she felt her soul being tugged because Kikyou was near, she would wait until Inuyasha got up at night and snuck out of whatever village they were in. And when she was sure he was gone, she got up and went the other way, off to where she met with Sesshoumaru.

* * *

I really like the idea of Kagome and Sesshoumaru meeting at night just like Inuyasha and Kikyou do. It interests me. :'p


	8. He'll Be There

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha!

Almost two thousand hits in just a day and a half!

So, I'm still sick. [/sniffles]

My eye is watering so bad I can barely see out of it. [/frowns]

Review?

* * *

They had only been meeting up for about a week and a half. The first time was by accident, when Kagome just decided to wander off. Now that she was more intune with her miko powers, Kikyou's pull on her soul wasn't as strong, but it was still annoying and uncomfortable. So she left the room the village head had given them, turned around, and went the opposite direction of where Inuyasha and Kikyou were. She didn't know what they were doing, and frankly, she no longer cared.

Kagome had been walking for a while when she came upon Sesshoumaru. He was sitting at the base of a tree, looking as if he were deep in thought. When she got too close, he noticed her, but didn't say anything. She sat a couple yards away from him. They stayed there in silence until the girl noticed the dead miko's presence moving farther away. She said goodbye to the demon lord and walked back to the room, falling asleep right before Inuyasha came back.

No matter where they were, Kagome could feel Kikyou's pull almost every other day. But now she was more than happy for a reason to get away and go her own way. The second time, she had been hopeful that Sesshoumaru would be there, although she doubted it would be that easy. It was. He was in the same spot as the last time. They sat in silence, she said goodbye, and then left.

When they moved villages, the miko hadn't thought that Sesshoumaru would magically be waiting for her again. But she went on her walk anyway, her bow and quiver in tow. Even though she hadn't expected the youkai to be there, when she began to give up all hope, she saw him through the trees. She sat a couple of feet away from him, but this time instead of staying silent, she started telling him about her day. Although he didn't respond to anything she had said, when it was time to go, she stood up, said thank you, and left.

This started happening every time Kikyou would show up near the village. Kagome wasn't sure why Sesshoumaru kept showing up, no matter where she was, and she highly doubted that he did, either. She figured he was telling himself that he was just staking out for a chance to kill Inuyasha and steal Tessaiga, or maybe that Rin wanted to know how she was doing. Maybe he could fool himself with those reasons, but she couldn't be fooled.

Especially not after the first time she finally got him to talk to her. She had asked about Rin, and he answered with a simple 'fine'. She began asking him about what he does as a Lord, and who the other Lords were. Little at a time, he began answering her questions. There were some interesting answers: like how most of the Lords have known each other since they were 'children', or that Rin believes the Lord of the North has a secret human mistress.

Even though they had only met at night five times, it felt like much longer. Now that she was used to being near him, she was able to pick up on his power whenever he was near.

One of the nights, they had met near a small river. They were talking, her sitting near the edge with her feet in the water, Sesshoumaru sitting at the base of a tree a couple of feet away. She was tired from healing too many people and blessing too many houses that day, and passed out. She had fallen into the water.

When she woke up the next morning, she was in her sleeping bag with Sango sitting next to her. Confused of what had happened and how she got back, she asked. "I don't know what happened, but I was woken by the door opening. When I looked, you were on the floor, passed out and drenched." Although that was all the girl said, Kagome could tell she knew something more, that she suspected something: she had that glint in her eyes.

Part of Kagome wanted to tell Sango everything that had happened. But what would be the demon slayer's reaction to it? Or better yet, why would there be a reaction at all? So Sesshoumaru and her met up every now and then. It wasn't like they did anything but talk. In a way, they were almost friends. But would Sango be upset at this? Why would she be? Would she be happy that Kagome had made a friend out of the youkai? Why?

No matter how she played it all out in her head, Kagome would be upset at the outcome. Upset at her friend's reaction. And if there were no reaction at all, if the confession was completely ignored, then she'd still be upset. She didn't want to hurt Sango, or herself. So what could she do? Exactly the same thing she had been doing this entire time: nothing.

Or at least that was what she told herself. She had replied to Sango that she had no idea what had happened, and went back to sleep. A couple of days later, they went to another village. Like the good miko she was trying to be, Kagome helped the villagers as much as she could. One of the women were giving birth, and that in itself took a couple of hours, just helping her through it. Crops had to be blessed, and children had to be played with. By the end of the day, she was almost too tired to go see Sesshoumaru.

But she did anyway. However, this time, she had made a decision. A resolution to herself and herself only. So she felt around for her new friend's demonic aura, and as soon as she saw him, instead of sitting down like she always did, she took a deep breath. "I can't do this. Until we finish the Shikon Jewel, I can't meet with you anymore." The girl looked at the demon, her eyes watery.

Smelling the beginning of tears, Sesshoumaru decided it would be best not to press the matter. He could tell something was wrong, and that something had happened since the last time he had met with the miko. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but when he looked down, he noticed her arms were crossed, her hands on the opposite shoulders -an unconscious way of distancing yourself from another. So he simply nodded. "Okay then. Good luck." He turned and left, mirroring Kagome as she did the same.

She didn't know how long it would be before they found the rest of the Jewel Shards. But at the very least, she was comforted by a fact that they both knew: Sesshoumaru would be there for her when the Jewel was finished.

* * *

This one is shorter and faster because... well, I want it to be.

And I'm so sick that I can't even believe I'm trying to get my brain to work enough to type this up.

And just to let you know, from now on, there will probably be lots of time skips between chapters.

[/nods]

Thanks for reading.


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